Konsekvensen er stor.

to be

Breakdown of Konsekvensen er stor.

• stor: big
• konsekvensen: the consequence

Questions & Answers about Konsekvensen er stor.

What does er mean, and what verb is it from?

Er is the present tense of å være, which means to be.

So:

• å være = to be
• er = is / am / are depending on the subject

In this sentence, Konsekvensen er stor, er means is.

Why does konsekvens become konsekvensen?

The ending -en makes the noun definite singular.

• en konsekvens = a consequence
• konsekvensen = the consequence

In Norwegian, the definite article is often attached to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word like English the.

Why is the noun definite here?

Because the sentence is talking about a specific consequence, not just any consequence.

So the sentence means the consequence is ..., not a consequence is ....

This usually implies that the consequence is already known from the context, or has just been mentioned.

Compare:

• En konsekvens er stor = A consequence is large/major
  This is grammatically possible, but much less natural in most contexts.
• Konsekvensen er stor = The consequence is large/major
  This sounds like you are referring to a particular consequence already under discussion.